Sailing a 34' with wet deck areas

[Diceman]

What harm is there in sailing a 34' sailboat (or others) that have wet or soft spots in it's deck? I know the out come on rough water. But if you were to sail these boat on good days only. Knowing that you are doing this only to gain experience in sailing and maintenance wise. Along with the intentions of not keeping these boats for more than a season or two. A lot of cheap boats out there seem to have a couple of good years left in them with out fixing the decks. Thanks

[smackdaddy]

Dude, there are so many problems with my C27 it's ridiculous. Cracks in the transom around the OB well, deformation at the starboard rear shroud chainplate, delamination in the cabin top, broken main slugs, etc. But, she sails...and sails really well. I would never take her out on a serious passage, but for daysailing and weekending in protected water...no biggie.

There's dangerous stuff that needs fixing, and there's stuff that can wait while you sail. Unless a chainplate is going to rip out of the deck, go sailing. Then fix the annoying crap as you can.

[billinmn]

That is great advise,go and enjoy your boat. My sailboat isn't anything pretty to look at but I have more fun with it than the other 4 boats I have. Bill & Crew

[Diceman]

Thank you very much Smackdaddy. This has been something I have kind of stewed over and over about. I bought a used boat that has been sail on and off for 25 years. Being from a construction background I just could not see why you wouldn't enjoy yourself on it. You don't always have to push the limits to have some fun. Every time I would come across some article bad mouthing the wet areas on decks, I started to second guess myself on what I was doing. Started to lose site of what I wanted to accomplish in the first place. Thinking after reading gee you have to fix this now or get in big trouble later.

[richeperkin]

@Diceman, I just bought a 1975, 23' Ranger, specifically for the purposes of (re)learning to sail, and learning the maintenance necessary to keep a sailboat. There's a couple ports need re-seating, most of the wiring needs replacing, and the best thing about it is I'm learning now, not on the 36' CS Merlin I'm going to get and circumnavigate in one day! Of course, I have the luxury of being on Lake Mead, with less than 5' of rainfall a year so I'm not overly worried about leaks. . .

[smackdaddy]

Originally Posted by Diceman

You don't always have to push the limits to have some fun.

Now let's not get carried away. I do have a reputation to protect you know.

Look, take anything I say with a serious grain of salt. Seriously. But I agree with you that there's typically WAY too much emphasis on ensuring PERFECTION at the expense of having fun on your sailboat. I mean c'mon.

If you know construction, you know the kind of stuff that is structural (and potentially dangerous) versus the stuff that is just worn and old and tired and annoying.

Me, I don't give a damn about having the perfect show-boat. I want it to be safe and strong enough for what we do, but I'd much rather go sail than spend weeks cutting and epoxying balsa and re-glassing a soft spot here and there on a 40 year old beater. Please.

[Diceman]

Thank You billinmn. That's just what I intend to do. Sometimes a person just gets caught up.

[Diceman]

Thanks richeperkin and Smackdaddy Your reputation will be upheld. Yes you have to be safe but something can wait for a better time.

[JaredC]

My OCD is far too strong to ignore boat problems the way you guys do...

So I sail other peoples' boats.

[Faster]

Originally Posted by JaredC

.....So I sail other peoples' boats.

Now there's a smart man!